Means for and method of setting well liners



Dec 14, 1943. F. G. BECKMAN ET AL 2,336,586

MEANS FOR AND METHOD OF SETTING WELL LINERS Filed Dec. 26, 1940 2Sheets-Sheet l U. au.

m n mz3 c w M [IILIII l l, llllll ll.llldlnvllflrlIIIIlilllllllllllltlllDec. 14,1343. F. G. BECKMAN TAL 2,333,333

MEANS FOR AND METHOD OF SETTlNG WELL LINERS Filed Deo. 26, 1940 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 14, 1943 FFICE MEANS Fon AND METHOD Fsii'i'iiN WELL LINERS Fred G. Beckman, Muskogee, Okla., and

Ebbin F. Edwards, Odessa. Tex.

Claims.

This invention relates to new Iand useful improvements inmeans for andmethods of setting well liners.

In the art of drilling oil wells, particularly in so-called deep wells,it has become the conventional practice to set or position a liner inthe well at the producing fonmation to preventl caving of the formationand filling "of the uncased well bore. This procedure is especiallydesirable when the producing formation has been treated with acid, shotor is extremely soft or porous. Quite frequently, the producingformation caves or sloughs-ol before the liner can be set with theresult that much diiiiculty is encountered in properly positioning theliner. When the formation caves and fills the well bore, it has becomecustomary to clean out the bottom of the well by circulating a suitableliquid therethrough so as to wash the caved material, as well as anydebris in the bore, to the surface. The cleaned well bore is then packedwith gravel and the liner is set in the gravel. It is the setting of theliner in a. gravel-packed well bore which presents the current problem.Manifestly, since the gravel is coarse and loosely packed, it has beenextremely diicult, heretofore, to rst drill a hole' for the liner, thenremove the drill stern and bit and then lower the liner into position.This ischiefly due to the fact that the removal of the drill stemloosens and causes the gravel to cave before the liner can be positionedin the new hole drilled through said gravel.

Therefore, one object of the invention is to provide an improved methodof setting a liner in a well bore which consists in lowering the linerinto the well bore and then drilling a hole for the reception of saidliner, whereby the liner is set in position simultaneously with thedrilling operation and whereby caving of the adjacent formation andfilling of the hole is eliminated.

An important object of the invention is to provide an improved method ofsetting a liner in a gravel-packed well bore which includes, loweringthe liner into the well bore so that the same is supported by thegravel,lowering the drill stem the gravel-packed well bore in closeproximity to the drill bit toprevenfl caving and lling of the well boreprior to the setting of the liner, the frictional engagement of saidliner with the gravel preventing upward displacement thereof uponremoval of the drill `stern from the well bore.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved means forsetting a liner in a. well bore which is so arranged that the liner maybe' forced downwardly into position by the weight of the drill stemsimultaneously with the drilling of a. hole for the reception or' saidliner, the internal diameter orv the liner being suniciently greater Ythan the diameterv of drill bit to permit said bit to readily passtherethrough, whereby the bit may be lowered through said liner to drillthe hole and then withdrawn without removing the liner from its loweredposition.

Still another obiect of the invention is to provide an improved devicefor setting a well liner which is adapted to be connected in a drillpipe above the drill bit, the device having -a bore communicating withthe bore of the pipe to permit a normal circulation yof drilling fluidduring the drilling operation and being constructed so as to permit freerotation or' said drill pipe and bit relative to the liner which is heldin a non-rotative position by its rictional engagement with the adjacentformation.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improvedioilower, of the character de scribed, having an outer shell whichengages the upper end of the liner and an inner portion connected to thedrill pipe and rotatable relative to the shell so that said liner may beforced downwardly into its set position by the weight of the drill pipe;the liner having a plurality of ports adjacent its upper end, wherebyreverse circulation of a drilling fluid is accommodated.

A construction designed to carry out the invention will be hereinafterdescribed together with other features of the invention.

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of thefollowing specification and by reference to the accompanying drawings,1n which an example of the invention is shown, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a transverse, vertical, sectional view of a gravel-packedwell bore, showing a liner supported by. the gravel and the drill bitand stem being lowered through the liner in accordance with theinvention,

Figure 2 is a view, similar to Figure l, showing the drilling of a holefor the reception of the liner mandrel and the collar 20.

and the forcing of the same downwardly by the weight of the drill stem,

Figure 3 is a similar view, showing the liner in its set position andthe withdrawal of the drill bit and stem,

Figure 4 is an enlarged, transverse, vertical, sectional view of thefollower,

Figure 5 is a horizontal, cross-sectional view. taken on the line 5-5 ofFigure 4, and

Figure 6 is a horizontal, cross-sectional view, taken onthe line 6-6 ofFigure 4.

In the drawings, the numeral I designates the conventional rotatabledrill stem or pipe which is adapted to be lowered through the well boreA and which has the usual drill collar II and drill bit I2 connected toits lower end. A follower sleeve I3 is coupled in the drill pipe, one ormore sections above the collar II, by suitable coupling collars I4. Thefollower sleeve I3 includes an elongate, tubular mandrel I which isco-axial and communicates with the bore of the drill pipe, as is clearlyshown in Figure 4. A collar I6 is preferably made integral the externalintermediate portion of the mandrel to provide an upwardly-disposedexternal, annular shoulder I1 and a complementary downwardly-disposedsho-ulder I8, as is clearly shown in Figure 4. A cylindrical shell orsleeve I9 surrounds the mandrel I5 and has its upper end internallyscrew-threaded to receive a collar or ring 20. The lower eX- ternalportion of the shell I8 is reduced in diameter and is tapered orinclined inwardly, as shown at 2l, to provide a frusto-conical bearingsurface. However, the bore of this reduced portion of the shell is ofgreater diameter than the mandrel I5 so as to be spaced therefrom. Aninternal, annular seat or shoulder 22 is formed within the bore of theshell immediately above the tapered portion 2I, whereby suitable ballbearings 23 may be supported within said shell.

For rotatably supporting the shell I9 relative to the mandrel I5, a ballbearing 24 is interposed between the upper annular shoulder I1 of theWhen the shell is supported by the underside of the ring 2U engaging theball bearing 24, the ball bearings 23 will be confined between the seat22 of said shell and the downwardly disposed shoulder I8 of the mandrel.These ball bearings are constructed in the usual manner and include aplurality of balls 25 confined between annular inner and outer races 26.Of course, the internal diameter of the inner races is substantiallyequal to the external diameter of the mandrel so as to have a snug ttherewith, while the outer races have an external diameter substantiallyequal to the internal diameter of the shell which they engage. Thus,free rotation of the mandrel with relation to the shell is permitted.For maintaining the ball bearings in position, an annular spacer memberor sleeve 21 of the same length as the collar I6 of the mandrel isinterposed between the ball bearings 24 and the uppermost ball bearing23. The diameter of the spacer 21 is sufficiently greater than thecollar I6 to permit said spacer to engage the outer races 26 of the ballbearings and to provide an annular space 28 between said spacer and saidcollar for lubrication purposes (Fig. 5).

An annular recess or groove 29 is formed within upper, inner peripheralportion of the collar for supporting a V-shaped, pressure-seal packingring, of rubber, synthetic rubber or other resilient material. Acircular cap 3l, of metal or other suitable material, surrounds themandrel I5 imi liner B so as to `being rotated in mediately above thepacking ring 30 and engages the upper surfaces of said ring, collar 20and the shell I9, which lie in substantially the same horizontal plane,to prevent fluid from entering the upper end the follower I3. From theforegoing, it is readily apparent that the mandrel I5 is rotatable withthe drill stem, to which it is directly connected, without rotating theshell I9 due to the provision of ythe ball bearings 23 and 24.

The tapered portion 2l of the shell I9 is arranged to engage within theupper end of a liner or sleeve B which is normally positioned within thelower uncased portion of the well bore immediately below the lower endof the casing,C. A plurality of ports or openings 32 are formed in theupper end of .the liner (Figure 6) to permit circulation of the drillingfluid down through the casing, past the follower I3, into the annularspace between the liner and the drill stem to the bit, then up throughthe blt, drill stem and mandrel to the surface. As shown in Figure l,the diameter of the bore of the liner is greater than the diameter ofthe bit I2 to permit the same to pass therethrough. For facilitating thesetting of the liner, the lower end thereof may be sharpened or bevelledinwardly as shown at 33.

After the uncased portion of the well has been cleaned by a suitablewash tool (not shown), the same is packed with gravel, as shown inFigure l. The liner B is then lowered in position by a suitable tool(not shown) and allowed to rest upon the gravel. Due to the provision ofthe knifeedge 33 and the weight of the liner, the lower end of saidliner will be embedded some distance in the gravel. The drill stem I0,having the follower I3 and drill bit I2 connected to its lower end, ismoved downwardly within the casing C and liner B until said bit strikesthe gravel within the lower portion of the well bore. At this time, thedrilling operation is commenced with the drilling fluid being circulateddownwardly through the casing outside of the drill stem, thenv throughthe ports 32 of the liner, through the annular space between said linerand the lower portion of said drill stem and upwardly through the bit,drill stem and mandrel I5, as indicated by the arrows in Figure thedrilling continues, the bit penetrates a portion of the gravel and thecuttings which are removed by the rotating bit are carried to thesurface of the well by the circulating drilling fluid. When the drillinghas progressed a sufficient clistance, the tapered portion 2I of theshell I9 of the follower I3 will engage the upper end of the force thesame downwardly through the gravel as shown in Figure 2. Since the lineris held stationary by its frictional engagement with the gravel, theshell I9 will also remain stationary after it has been moved intoengagement with said liner. However, as has been hereinbefore explained,free rotation of the drill bit, stem and mandrel I5 relative to saidshell is not interfered with due to the provision of the ball bearings.Thus, the weight of the drill stem may be utilized to force the linerdownwardly through the gravel, while said drill stem is the usualmanner, whereby the setting of the liner and the drilling of a hole forthe reception of said liner may be effected simultaneously.

After the liner has been forced downwardly to the bottom of the Wellbore, the drill bit and stem may be withdrawn from the well as shown inFigure 3. This removal of the drill stem and bit after the completion ofthe setting operation is permitted because the diameter of said bit issmaller than the bore of the liner. Due to the frictional engagement ofthe liner with the gravelpacked well bore, said liner will remain in itsset position upon the removal rof the drill stem and drill bit.

From the foregoing, it is readily apparent that after a well bore hasbeen cleaned and packed with gravel, a liner may be set in saidgravelpacked well bore simultaneously with the drilling of a hole forthe reception of said liner. The

provision of the follower I3 with its shell I9 rotatable relative to themandrel I5 and drill stem I0 permits the utilization of the weight ofsaid drill stem in forcing the liner through the gravel withoutinterfering with the normal rotation of the stem during the drillingoperation. Since reverse circulation of drilling fluid is employed inthis improved method of setting a Well liner, the provision of thecircular cap 3| and pressureseal packing ring 30 at the upper end of thefollower is sufficient to pack oil the interior thereof and preventssaid fluid from entering thegsame. Obviously, this method is much morepositive, economical and quicker than the conventional methods ofsetting well liners.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory thereof andvarious changes in the size, shape and materials, as well as in thedetails of the illustrated construction may be made, within the scope ofthe appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. The method of setting a liner in a well bore which includes, packingthe lowerI portion of the well bore with gravel, lowering the liner intothe well bore, and then drilling a bore through the gravel for thereception of said liner, whereby the liner may be set in positionsimultaneously with the drilling operation.

2. The method of settinga liner in a well bore which includes, packingthe well bores with gravel,

lowering the liner into said well bore into sup porting engagement withthe gravel, then drilling through the gravel below the liner to forma-bore for the reception of said liner, and simultaneously forcing theliner downwardly through said gravel.

3. The method of setting a liner in a well bore which includes, packingthe well bore with gravel, lowering the liner into said well bore intosupporting engagement with the gravel, then lowering a drill stem anddrill bit into the Well bore and through said liner, rotating the stemand bit to drill a bore through the gravel for the reception of theliner, utilizing the weight of said stem to force said liner downwardlythrough saidgravel into the drilled bore simultaneously with thedrilling operation, and then withdrawing the stem and bit from saiddrilled bore and well bore.

4. An apparatus for setting a liner in a well bore including, arotatable drill pipe having a drill bit secured to its lower end, thebit being of less diameter than the bore of the liner to be set in orderto permit said bit to pass therethrough to drill a bore for thereception of said liner, and a sleeve connected to the pipe above thebit and rotatable relative thereto for engaging the-upper end of theliner to transmit the weight of said pipe thereto, whereby said linermay be forced downwardly into the drilled bore by the weight of the pipesimultaneously with the drilling of said bore without rotation of theliner.

5. In combination with a well liner-adapted tov be set within a wellbore, an apparatus for setting the same including, a rotatable drillpipe, a drill bit having an external diameter less than the bore of thewell liner attached to said drill pipe so that it may be lowered throughsaid liner, and a follower carried by thedrill pipe and rotatablerelative thereto for engaging and transmitting the weight of said pipeto the upper end of the liner. whereby the weight of the pipe may beimposed on said liner to force the same downwardly within the borewithout rotating the liner.

y FRED G. BECKMAN.

EBBIN F. EDWARDS.

